Electrical wires dangle from the ceiling and debris covers the floor as the tattooed, bearded Smyth wanders through the subterranean space at Circular Quay that was one of Sydney’s premier live music venues until it closed its doors last year.

The closure of The Basement last year provoked angst over the demise of yet another live music venue in Sydney. A rally was held at the NSW Parliament and a motion passed in the upper house calling on building manager AMP Capital to retain the space for live music.

Smyth and Graham’s plans for the venue include a bar and burger joint at street level, with a restaurant and wine bar downstairs as well as live music including blues, rock and jazz.

Smyth attributed The Basement's closure to a failure to adapt to changing tastes.

"We've seen the old programs floating around here and the reality is the artists are great," he says. "But maybe people aren't willing to part with that dollar for food that hasn't kept up with the times."

But Smyth also rejects the cult of the chef.

"The food space has become far too navel-gazing," he says. "People are only talking about the food and wine experience and that’s not what restaurants used to be.

"Restaurants were a place of sharing moments, and music and entertainment were a part of that experience."

Smyth and Graham are a sartorial contrast to rival hospitality barons such as Merivale’s Justin Hemmes or Solotel’s Matt Moran and Bruce Solomon. They pepper their conversation with the type of language not usually heard in a corporate boardroom.

But they have muscled in on Sydney’s nightlife, with an anarchic blend of burgers, booze and live music.

Graham says the likes of Merivale had raised standards in the dining industry: "A pub can’t do shitty food any more, it’s just not acceptable."

But he adds: "Perhaps we care a bit more about the wider picture."

For Smyth, the wider picture includes saying no to poker machines even if it means ignoring the advice of their accountants.

"This is a moral decision that we’ve made," he says. "You cannot build a community around a pub while systematically taking the most vulnerable amongst us for a ride for your profits."

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Smyth rejects the notion that live music venues cannot turn a profit without poker machines.

"We’ve got the Lansdowne and we are paying our way," he says. "We’re not sitting there like Scrooge McDuck counting our piles of money, but the reality is the pay-off in a way is more tangible than dollars."

Smyth and Graham are playing a prominent role in the debate about Sydney’s night-time economy, adding their names to the a submission from the Lansdowne 15 group, named for the Chippendale hotel, to the parliamentary inquiry into live music.

"That’s a place we didn’t think we’d be in 2013 when we opened an obnoxious burger joint in Newtown," Smyth says.

The dire state of Sydney’s nightlife has been the subject of a parliamentary inquiry and protests, with lockout laws introduced in 2014 to curb alcohol-related violence blamed for undermining the city’s after-dark economy.

But Sydney misses out on about $16 billion a year because its night-time economy is underdeveloped, according to Deloitte Access Economics. The Deloitte report found the after-dark economy made up 3.8 per cent of Australia’s economy, compared with 6 per cent in the United Kingdom.

The Night Time Industries Association, which counts Mary’s as a member and grew out of the Lansdowne 15, issued a five-point plan last week to revitalise Sydney’s nightlife, including the repeal of lockout laws, streamlining rules governing noise and eliminating red tape.

"Unless we have a minister who takes responsibility for the night-time economy, we won’t see the follow-through that’s required to change the dire situation Sydney has found itself in as a cosmopolitan, global city past 8 pm," says NTIA chairman Michael Rodrigues.

Smyth is passionate about Sydney and its nightlife, which he says thrives in adversity.

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"It’s where scumbags and suits can walk side-by-side," he says. "That’s Sydney to me. It’s the gutter and the f---ing stars."

Smyth draws a contrast with Melbourne, which he says provides a nurturing, well-funded environment for its artists and musicians.

"Sydney artists have to punch their way out of the f---ing bag," he says. "They f---ing fight their way out of a f---ing corner."

Smyth says the NSW government will be punished by voters if it ignores calls to nurture nightlife.

"The Labor government got booted because they were perceived to be economically flat-footed, right?" he says. "This current government will get f---ing shellacked because they can’t commit to culture and Sydney won’t f---ing stand for it."